1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a composite charged particle beam apparatus for preparing a thin sample by using an ion beam.
2. Related Art
There has been proposed a technology of preparing a thin sample used for transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation by using a focused ion beam (FIB) apparatus. Further, it has been known that gallium, which is an ion species, is injected to the thin sample by irradiation of the Focused Ion Beam so that a damage layer is formed.
In recent years, as means for removing the damaged layer, finishing processing has been proposed in which the thin sample is irradiated with a gas ion beam (GIB) and the damaged layer is removed (refer to JP-A-2007-066710).
According to such means, it is possible to form the thin sample having fewer damaged layers.